The design debate

Smartphone sales figures might tell another story, but 2013 has seen design playing a huge role in product popularity

These days it really isn’t about black and white specifications. Sure, today’s flagship smartphones all have the chops when it comes to delivering on performance, but that’s not really the sole reason we buy them, is it? The lure of high-end gadgets is increasingly about design, tactile feel, user interface, and of course sheer sexiness. We take a closer look at some of the products that have pushed the limits on these fronts – bleeding-edge design is certainly something we’ll be seeing more of in the months ahead.

Sony Xperia Z: There have been flashes of brilliance in the Sony stable almost since the brand shed the Ericsson suffix and went solo last year. The Xperia Z is arguably the sexiest Sony mobile device ever. There’s more to the Xperia Z than its now famous water-proof and dust-proof capabilities. Omni-balance is a word Sony coined for this device – it’s meant to signify perfect symmetry in all directions. Sony sought inspiration from the watch crown of a premium watch for its aluminum power button. We like the placement (on the right) of that button as large screen devices are not friendly for one handed navigation. The rectangular slab-like design with tempered glass lends plenty of oomph even though it snags more than its fair share of fingerprints.

Samsung Galaxy S4: The jokes about how the S3 and the S4 almost look like identical long-lost twins are now passé. The Galaxy S2 probably represented the pinnacle of Samsung’s smartphone design, but its successors have opted for a curvy form factor that sparked a family of clones. The S4’s ‘life companion’ tagline also symbolizes the brand’s design approach. Samsung’s biggest design challenge has probably been ‘What next?’ given the fact that many users think that the Smartphone has hit a wall and there’s no more cool stuff on the other side. With the S4, design innovations manifested in the form of UI tweaks that set out to prove that your phone can think for you – scary but after a long day at work you probably wouldn’t mind. For example, the story album feature that automatically senses that you are on a holiday and suggests a separate album. While premium smartphones have begun embracing the unibody design, the S4 still offers a removable back and battery which many users find comforting. Samsung might not have made a big design jump in 2013 with this phone but it feels really nice in your hand – perhaps it’s that ever-so-slimmer bezel.

Nokia Lumia 920 and 925: The best thing that the Lumia 920 did was add some colour to the premium smartphone space dominated by cold whites, greys and blacks. The Ferrari red and canary yellow brought some much needed spunk and even helped Nokia win IDEA awards for design excellence. In a world of Megas and Ultras, Nokia has opted to stay with a 4.5-inch screen with stoic resolve – mobile phones are meant to be used with one hand right? The Lumia 920 uses polycarbonate that lends a more premium demeanor than plastic, but at 185 gms the device is clunkier than its bigger screen rivals. This should change with Lumia 925 debuting shortly with an aluminium chassis and weighing in almost 50 gms lighter. As for the phone’s low light photography prowess, it probably helped that their design team in Finland has to work through cold winters where the sun barely shows up.

HTC One: If beauty for you is skin deep or if it’s usually a case of love at first sight, the HTC One could easily be the smartphone you might want to wake up with. HTC needed something special this year, given that they had been playing catch up almost since 2010 when the HTC Desire rocked planet Android. HTC’s one word brief – Zero gap construction – might sound simple but it is actually a complex process that involves diamond cutters, electro-chemical etching and the like; the cutting process alone takes 200 minutes for each device. Hewn from a single block of aluminium with a curved back and slightly angled edges, the HTC One fits snugly into the hand. The speakers are positioned on both sides of the screen and the bezels on either end are almost invisible. The spec sheet is impressive but this one wins hearts on sheer good looks and solid heft alone.

Apple iPhone 5: It’s been on the shelves for a year now, the rumour mill is working overtime given the next iPhone is around the corner and yet this phone still holds its own. The iPhone 5 finally broke away from the 3.5-inch screen, opting for a 4-inch screen and still managed to weigh 20 percent lighter than its predecessor. ‘Substantial in your hand, perfect in your pocket’ nicely summarises Apple’s simple design philosophy for the iPhone 5. Owners of 5.5 inch phablets that keep peeping out of their jeans pockets couldn’t agree more. The anodised aluminium shell with a sapphire glass back kept the iPhone 5 in premium build territory – the fingerprints and scratches on the back were inevitable but in terms of sheer build quality this phone still has little competition.

Got a favorite device purely because of its great design? Tell us about it on Twitter and on Facebook.